Marco Silva frustrated after ten-man Liverpool snatch 2-2 Fulham draw
14/12/2024
Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, UK
14/12/2024
Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00Are you disappointed with the result or do you think it's a better result than your last
00:16two appearances here, where you took the lead and lost again?
00:20Good evening. It's a mix of feelings, I have to say, of course. When we were leading the
00:26score twice and Liverpool after the 20 minutes playing with Thurman, of course we got that
00:33feeling that we should have won the game. But the game was not just against them, I
00:40think the first 20 minutes from ourselves and the way we started the game showed the
00:45trust in ourselves as well, massive respect with Liverpool of course, the quality they
00:51have. But when you come here at Anfield to play a game and to match them and try to win
00:55the game, we know it's going to be always a little bit of an electric game, if I can
00:59say it this way, a little bit emotional, because if you are open, the quality they have and
01:04with the crowd behind, in some moments they can be unstoppable. But we took that risk
01:08and we wanted to show from the first minute that we are here to try to win the game. And
01:13because we started so well and leading the score, our dynamic up front created a lot
01:17of problems for them always.
01:20The red card made an impact of course, the game became a little bit more emotional, the
01:26crowd played their part, of course Liverpool players as well. They took some risks to start
01:31to play more man-on-man on the pitch and I think what I felt that we should have kept
01:36more the ball on ourselves, circulated a little bit better to try to make them run more and
01:41I think it was something that I felt that we have lack of, to have more possession on
01:47the ball to make Liverpool run a little bit more. We tried to adjust at half-time that
01:52situation to go in a direction that we can keep the ball more on ourselves. Of course
01:57the early goal from Liverpool made a massive impact on it, but even so I think we reacted
02:02well and we scored the 2-1 and came the late goal after and they equalised the game.
02:10So many times that you arrive in dangerous areas, the second half was clear in our left
02:14on side. I think the way we planned the game, our first goal, the way we planned the position
02:19of Robinson this afternoon and Alex a little bit more inside created a lot of problems
02:23for Liverpool. We knew that the position of Salah a little bit more inside, we should
02:29have created more problems for them in that moment and we did it. I think almost all the
02:34game, even the first minutes of the game that we scored the first goal, the second goal
02:37is more or less in the same way. But arriving in so many dangerous areas, four against three,
02:45three against two, sometimes three against three you should have taken better decisions
02:49to create more clear chances. It's the thing that we go on a little bit with that strange
02:54feeling that we should have created more chances. But OK, the power of Liverpool in some moments
02:59made an impact too.
03:00I can answer directly to you both feelings. Pleased for the performance, the way you did
03:06it, the braveness from the players from the first minute and of course leading the score
03:11twice against ten men, 70 minutes, we should have taken the three as well. But it is what
03:16it is, it's football and we don't play against the easy side too.
03:21You mentioned Antony Robinson, but can you talk a bit more about his performance today?
03:33What a performance. It was difficult to express in words the performance of Robinson this
03:40afternoon. Again, it's not the first time. I know that he's a player that if I have to
03:47play again in two days, three days time he's going to be ready again and he's a great athlete.
03:53But the way he's been improving in our defensive process, some set-ups, defensive set-ups,
03:59he's always an open mind to learn and he's been improving early and of course in third
04:04attack. He's already the full-back in Premier League with more assists from open play. Last
04:11season he was the full-back with more assists in open play as well in Premier League. He
04:15showed the way he's been improving because a player that arrives so many times there,
04:20he has to be decisive and I think this season he's showing more of that. But as you said
04:26as well, playing against Salah, a lot of situations one-on-one, the way he was brave, the way
04:31he was assertive and aggressive in the right way with the yellow card from I don't know
04:36when he took the yellow card, probably 25, 30 minutes of the game. Even so, always really
04:41aggressive in a good way, up and down every single time, what a performance from him.
04:46He's a great example, one of the greatest in our dressing room. The way he works, the
04:50way he's been playing, he's been brilliant for us and we are really pleased to have him
04:55with us.
04:56There's also the block, Van Dijk in the 90k, I'm not sure if the other side is performing...
05:03Yes, as I said, the way he's been improving because we all know and I know him very well
05:08from Everton when I was a young player at Everton and it was probably too early for
05:16him to go in that. But after he went in a different path, he went to have some game
05:21time and even when I arrived at Fulham four seasons ago, the way he's been improving
05:28off the ball has been exceptional. Of course, if you create the right moments for him, if
05:33you set up him in the right areas, he's going to be decisive going forward and going up
05:38and down every single time because it's not easy for any winger to follow him the way
05:42he plays. Of course, with a player like Alex that is really good connecting with him, we
05:47have a really strong left side definitely and this afternoon was again decisive.
05:52Do you still look back to that?
05:56You are asking for a Fulham manager? Of course I'm going to say yes. I don't want to speak
06:01too much about him because I know this coming January it's going to be again the same story
06:05about Robinson and really I don't want to go in that direction. Robinson is really focused
06:13in the way he wants to work and behave and let's keep him as focused as we can and of
06:19course pleased with him. As I said last season, you like the numbers and the stats and whatever.
06:28I said to you, open play was the full-back with more assists at this level. Improving
06:34like he's been improving off the ball and the defensive process show the quality that he has.
06:39He's crucial for us as a player and of course we are pleased with him. If he's the best or not,
06:44probably I'm not the right person to talk about. My players are always the best and
06:48I'll let this to you to speak about him.
06:56Very, very good performance. What a debut for him and to come here at Anfield like we came
07:02with a lot of absences. Our two central defenders normally have been playing more,
07:07Joaquin and Calvin Bassett. They were not here and St George, they did it really well.
07:13What a performance from Quenca. It's not a surprise for us and for his teammates as well
07:20because the way you see him playing in the pre-season, we saw him playing more games.
07:24The way you see him training every single day, we know he has top quality on the ball.
07:29Really aggressive as well. Of course, he debuted at the Premier League but he's a player that
07:34last two or three seasons has been playing in La Liga, always at the highest level as well.
07:39We were really comfortable with him. Of course,
07:41he's not good when you have absence of any player and Calvin is doing really well.
07:45But we are really feeling that it's going to be a good game for Quenca and he did it.